LIU to Honor Fallen Reporter Anthony Shadid With Special Award

New York Times correspondent died Thursday while covering uprising in Syria

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The judges for Long Island University’s George Polk Awards in Journalism will posthumously award fallen New York Times correspondent Anthony Shadid a prize for extraordinary valor for his work in the Middle East.

Shadid, 43, died Thursday from an apparent asthma attack while reporting in Syria on the uprising against the country’s president. He was returning with smugglers from Syria to Turkey when he collapsed, according to The Times.

"Mr. Shadid was cut from the same cloth as George Polk," said John Darnton, curator of the George Polk Awards in Journalism. "He was a hero to his colleagues. He believed in getting right to the scene.

"He uncovered all the facts and stories of the survivors and victims, always with empathy and humanism, and told them in powerful prose to the outside world. He’s irreplaceable," Darnton added.

Shadid earned the George Polk Award for Foreign Reporting in 2003. He also won two Pulitzer Prizes during his illustrious career, in 2004 and in 2010.

Shadid spent most of his professional life covering the Middle East, first as a reporter with the Associated Press, then with The Boston Globe, and later with The Washington Post. He had been reporting for The New York Times since 2010.

LIU will announce the winners of the 2011 George Polk Awards in Journalism on Monday, Feb. 20. Shadid will be honored with the other winners at the George Polk Awards Luncheon on Thursday, April 5.